As is well known in the art, there are a number of surgical procedures which are characterized by large quantities of fluid flowing from the surgical site. The fluid may constitute body fluid from the patient or irrigation fluid from irrigation apparatus. In either event, the fluid must be allowed to drain from the surgical site and, for the protection of both the patient and the operating staff, the fluid flow should be controlled by collection and containment. Where large quantities of fluid are involved, it may be further be necessary to drain the fluid from the collection and containment means.
Prior art workers have attempted to control and collect liquid from the operating site in numerous ways. For example, one way to collect and contain fluid from the operating site is to surround the site with absorptive towels or the like. It is also common practice to utilize suction and surgical sponges within the body cavity. None of these expedients is particularly successful when large quantities of liquid are involved. As a consequence, prior art workers have devised liquid collecting bags constituting a part of the surgical drape, itself. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,890,628 and 5,002,069 are exemplary of such collection bags. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,890,628 the collection bag has, integral therewith, a pair of upstanding members which partially, at least, surround the site. These upstanding members tend to channel fluid into the collection bag. Both the upstanding members and the bag are provided with malleable inserts by which they may be shaped and maintained in the desired shape. The collection bag of U.S. Pat. No. 5,002,069 is gathered into the desired shape by a drawstring.
Prior art workers have devised disposable trough-forming elements made of plastic material and having a central opening. Once the surgical drape is in place, the plastic trough-foraging element is adhered to the patient's body adjacent the periphery of the fenestration of the drape. The plastic trough-forming element is provided with a fenestration of its own, or the surgeon cuts a fenestration therein suitable for the particular procedure being performed.
Copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/084,001, filed Jun. 29, 1993 in the names of Veronica Ann Mills and Jeffrey L. Taylor and entitled SURGICAL DRAPE WITH IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION FOR "CRITICAL ZONE" PANEL, teaches a reusable drape having a fenestration therein. A trough-forming panel of liquid resistant material is provided with a corresponding opening, and the drape and the trough-forming panel are sewn together about the peripheries of their respective opening and fenestration. The outside edges of the trough-forming panel are then folded inwardly toward the fenestration to form trough segments. At the corners, the trough-forming panel is carefully folded and maintained in folded condition by snap means. While this system works well, it, like the other systems mentioned above, requires manipulation. If the corners are not properly folded, a direct escape channel for fluids might result. Furthermore, by virtue of the folding, the corners of the trough-forming panel are multi-layered and somewhat cumbersome.
The present invention is based upon the discovery that the problems encountered with prior art fluid collection devices can be minimized or completely eliminated. To this end, a substantially rectangular trough-forming panel of liquid resistant material is sewn to a surgical drape about the periphery of the fenestration of the surgical drape, with the trough-forming panel having an opening therein corresponding to the drape fenestration. Three or four of the outside edges of the rectangular panel are folded inwardly toward the fenestration to form trough segments. The peripheral edge of the panel at corners where adjacent trough segments meet is gathered to form smooth curved corner edges. This results in corners between adjacent trough segments which are unseamed and stitch free, unlike most prior art structures. Furthermore, the gathered corners do not require folding with consequent multi-layering. The gathered corners enable adjacent trough segments to have different depths, as will be described hereinafter.
The trough structure of the present invention requires a minimum of manipulation and is free of malleable shape forming devices, or the like. The drape and trough are easily folded and are readily cleanable by conventional washing and drying techniques and are sterilizable by any appropriate sterilization process, preferably autoclaving. The teaching of the present invention are applicable to any surgical drape for any surgical procedure in which large quantities of liquid are anticipated.